Basic Turkey Gravy and Stuffing

Oct. 15, 2002 -- Good Morning America Food Editor Sara Moulton has written her first cookbook, featuring some of her family recipes. They're perfect for the busy parent.

Some of the favorites from her cookbook, Sara Moulton Cooks at Home, include Mom's Meatball Stroganoff (a family recipe), Stir-Fried Spicy Carrots With Peanuts, and Mocha Cookies, a recipe from a Los Angeles restaurant called The Bakery, which she adapted slightly by adding chunks of bittersweet chocolate in place of the chips.

Moulton's recipes are the latest in Good Morning America's "We're Cooking Now," series, in which we share our family recipes with you.

Mom's Meatball Stroganoff Ingredients

(Serves 4 to 6)

• 1 pound ground chuck

• 1 medium onion, finely chopped

• 2 garlic cloves, minced

• 1 teaspoon kosher salt

• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

• 1/2 cup fresh bread crumbs (recipe below)

• 2 large egg yolks

• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

• 1/2 pound cultivated white mushrooms, thinly sliced

• 1/2 cup dry sherry

• 2 cups chicken stock, preferably homemade (recipe below)

• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened

• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill

• 1/2 cup sour cream

• Additional kosher salt, and freshly ground pepper to taste

Mom's Meatball Stroganoff Directions

1. Combine the chuck, half of the chopped onion, the garlic salt, pepper, bread crumbs, egg yolks, and 1/2 cup water in a large bowl.

2. Mix well and form meatballs that measure about 1 inch in diameter.

3. Heat the oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the meatballs and cook, shaking and turning until well browned, about five minutes. (Don't crowd the pan; work in batches if necessary. Transfer to paper towels to drain.)

4. Pour off any excess fat from the skillet, leaving 3 tablespoons in the pan, and add the remaining onion.

5. Cook, stirring often, until softened, about five minutes.

6. Add the mushrooms and cook, stirring until the liquid they give off has evaporated, 7 to 10 minutes.

7. Pour in the sherry, increase the heat to high, and boil until almost all the liquid they give off has evaporated, 7 to 10 minutes. Pour in the stock and bring to a boil.

8. Rub the butter with the flour in a small bowl until it forms a smooth paste. Pinch off pea-size pieces and add little by little to the boiling sauce, whisking constantly for three minutes. Add the meatballs, stir in the dill and sour cream, season with salt and pepper and cook over low heat until the meatballs are just heated through. Serve hot.

Chicken Stock, Ingredients and Directions

• 5 pounds chicken wings, rinsed and patted dry

• 2 medium onions, quartered

• 2 small carrots, halved

• 2 celery ribs, halved

• 2 small parsnips, halved

• 1 bay leaf, preferably Turkish

• 1 teaspoon whole black peppercorns v• 8 fresh parsley stems

• 2 fresh thyme sprigs or 1 teaspoon dried

1. Place the chicken wings in a large stockpot and pour in enough cold water to cover by 2 inches. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, skimming the scum that rises to the surface. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer, skimming often for 20 minutes. Add the remaining ingredients.

2. Simmer for 2 1/2 hours.

3. Strain the stock, cool slightly and skim off the fat that rises to the top. (Alternatively, chill in the refrigerator overnight. Remove the fat that accumulates on the surface.)
Return the stock to the stockpot and bring to a strong simmer over medium-high heat. Simmer until the liquid has reduced by one third to concentrate the flavor.

Fresh Bread Crumbs, Ingredients and Directions

(about 2 1/2 cups)

6 slices homemade-style white breadNote: (Use fresh bread crumbs to add bulk or moisture to a recipe, dry bread crumbs when you want to remove moisture, or add crust to a recipe.)

1. Cut off and discard the crusts from the bread and tear into large pieces. Place in a food processor or blender and process until very fine.

You can use them right away or freeze them. If you freeze them, you need to dry them out in a 350 degree oven for about 5 minutes before using.

*To make dry bread crumbs toast your bread lightly in a 350-degree oven for 10 to 15 minutes, letting it cool, and then grinding it up in the blender.

Stir-Fried Spicy Carrots With Peanuts, Ingredients and Directions

• 1/4 cup unsalted peanuts

• 1 pound medium carrots

• 1 Tablespoon vegetable oil, preferably peanut

• 2 Tablespoons unsalted butter

• 1/4 teaspoon hot red pepper flakes, or to taste

• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

• Squeeze of fresh lime juice

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

2. Put the peanuts in a shallow pan, and bake for 10 minutes.

3. Let cool and chop coarse.

4. Coarsely grate the carrots.

5. Melt the oil with the butter in a large wok or skillet over high heat until hot but not smoking.

6. Add the carrots and cook, stirring constantly until cooked evenly, about 5 minutes.

7. Stir in the peanuts and pepper flakes and season with salt and pepper.

8. Finish with a squeeze of lime juice and serve hot.

Mocha Cookies, Ingredients and Directions

(makes about 36 cookies)

• 4 ounces unsweetened chocolate, finely chopped

• 8 ounces bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped

• 8 Tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour

• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

• 1/2 teaspoon table salt

• 4 large eggs, at room temperature

• 1 1/2 cups sugar

• 1 1/2 Tablespoons instant espresso powder

• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1. Combine the unsweetened chocolate, half the bittersweet chocolate and the butter in a large bowl.

2. Place the bowl over a large saucepan of simmering, but not boiling water and melt, stirring often until smooth.

3. Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt.

4. Using an electric beater, beat the eggs and sugar in a large bowl until thick and pale, about 10 minutes. Beat in the espresso powder and the vanilla.

5. Carefully fold the melted chocolate mixture into the egg mixture.

Fold in the flour mixture, then stir in the remaining bittersweet chocolate. Refrigerate the batter overnight.

6. Preheat the oven to 350 F.

7. Drop the batter by heaping tablespoons, leaving at least 1 1/2 inches between cookies, onto buttered baking sheets or baking sheets lined with parchment. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes, until slightly undercooked. They should be puffed, shiny and beginning to crack on top.

8. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheets, then transfer to cool completely on wire racks. They will keep for five days at room temperature, wrapped tightly, or for 1 month frozen.

All recipes used with permission, excerpted from Sara Moulton Cooks at Home, by Sara Moulton, Broadway Books, Copyright October 2002.